Things must be as they may
by Lucy Saints
Summary: 3rd chapter up! Tara is a dedicated police officer who lives and breathes her job. Not able to refuse an old woman's wish she takes in two brothers, when they need help. This throws her life upside down and she is forced to rethink her standards.
1. In the beginning

_Regular disclaimer type stuff:_

**I own nothing, and therefor I eat beans on toast.**

_The idea off Boondock Saints belongs to Troy Duffy, there for I do not own any of the already existing characters._

_All trademarks concerning this movie are credited to their respective owners._

_The characters you do not know have been thought up by me._

_**This story is rated for fowl language and some explicit writing that may follow in next chapters.**_

_Ok so that is out off the way now for my reasons to write this:  
I simply love the movie, I have seen it so many times I have lost count.  
I started writing this while I was sick with the flue, it is not the first BDS FF I have done, (there is still one in the rigorous process off re-writing) but I hope you will enjoy it none the less._

**Chapter One: In the beginning.**

The sun shone brightly as Tara walked across the field in the park, she carefully kept her eyes open. She hated working today, off all days she had to pull duty on St. Patrick's Day. Even worse was that she was usually a detective but now she was walking among the masses trying t catch pick pockets.

She groaned as she ripped another piece off her bright green cotton candy.

She thought about other things while aimlessly walking round, she needed cat food, and she should go see the reverent mother tomorrow.

"_Callahan, are you even paying attention?"_ The voice off her captain appeared in her ear.

"What?" Tara said pressing the side off her ear piece.

"_Nothing, I was just wondering if you were going to grab that little son of a bitch robbing granny over at your ten o'clock or are you going to wait for the next one?"_ The captain said sarcastically.

Tara whirled round to see, and he had said a teenage boy was reaching into an old woman's open purse.

Tara dropped her cotton candy and walked over to him, waiting for him to actually take his hand from the purse with something in his hand.

After a few seconds the boy pulled a small money purse from the bag and smiled to himself.

Tara grabbed him by the scruff off his neck.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to steal?" She asked turning him round and making him look at her.

The boy dropped the money purse out of pure shock.

"Pick it up!" Tara said making him bend over.

"Excuse me ma'am? Does this belong to you?" Tara said to the woman gesturing to the purse now once again in the boys hands.

The lady smiled. "Oh yes it does, so nice off you to pick it up, it must have fallen out." She said looking at the boy with a smile.

Tara said nothing and waited for the woman to take her possession, then she dragged the boy over to the van standing at the ready in the corner off the park.

As he was taken over by another officer Tara looked inside the van and raised her sunglasses.

"What does that make 12 already?" She asked her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, your on top so far. Keep it up and you will get a shiny sticker in the shape off a star at the end off the day." The captain said looking at her.

Tara closed the door and once more made her way in-between the crowd.

"You do know this is unfair, I am Irish, I shouldn't be working on St. Paddy's" She said pressing her ear piece.

"_You and every other cop in my precinct, you Irish tend to think you are something special in New York."_ The voice answered back.

"Hell captain, the Irish invented New York!" Tara said with a smile lowering her sunglasses once more.

At the end off the day Tara walked out off her precinct, she had changed and took her bag out the back off her car. She made her way on foot down the street. Trying to drive tonight would be impossible, the streets were crowded with people, and she only lived a few blocks away.

As she walked she saw people dressed in green outfits walking along the streets singing and dancing. St. Patrick's day was always a big celebration in this neighbourhood.

Even though she had found the work beneath her Tara was pleased at the amount off robbers and small time offenders she had grabbed today.

These ass-holes seemed to find it a challenge to rob people during big festivities. She hated them all, how could someone do a thing like that?

Her father, god rest his soul, had been an honest and good man, a cop like her. All she could still remember off him was a sunny afternoon like it had been today.

Tara was sitting on the grass in their back yard, he had taken her hand and had made her look at him.

"_Listen to me girl, a person is only as good as they want to be. A man isn't evil by nature they become evil. Never let anything or anyone corrupt you, stay true too yourself." _

He had kissed her on the forehead and then had left for work, that was the last time she had ever seen him. He had been shot that very same night, leaving her on her own with no family.

She had been 6 when she had been placed in the St. Lucy's school for orphaned girls. The reverent mother had greeted her that day, a warm women who had taken her by the hand and had lead her into the dorm.

Tara sighed that was 19 years ago, she had since moved out off the school but still kept in touch with the reverent mother. Having none off her own she thought off her as just that; her mother.

As she walked up the steps to her building Tara grabbed her keys, she juggled the paper bag with her shopping and opened her front door and was greeted by her cat.

"Stop complaining Tigger, I got you food." She said leaning down and petting him over the head.

The big ginger tom cat meowed at her and followed her at a trot as she walked into the kitchen.

She opened a tin off cat food and put some in a bright coloured bowl.

Then she took a microwave dinner from the paper bag, ripped off the cardboard and repeatedly stuck it with a fork.

She timed the microwave and stared at it while she waited the 3 and a half minutes it needed.

Ripping off the foil She put the plastic container on a plate and took a can off beer from the fridge.

She walked over to the sofa and sat down, switching the TV on.

Tigger jumped on the arm rest and looked at her food licking his mouth.

"You just had yours, this is mine!" Tara said to him pointing at her plate with her fork.

Tigger gave a feeble meow again.

"Ok one bite but that is it!" Tara said taking a small piece off meat and putting it in front of the cat.

"How sad am I? I am sitting in my house with my cat as a dinner date." Tara sighed.

Tigger purred as he nestled himself against her leg, Tara sighed and started flipping through the channels.

"Suck up all you want, but when my food is gone I'm going out." Tara said with a smile as she petted Tigger again.

As if protesting at her words the cat looked up at her.

"Hey it's St. Paddy's I should be out there having fun and getting drunk." Tara said with a smile.

At the other side of town to figures were struggling to get through an ally.

"This was a bad idea." The one walking upright, and dragging the other said.

"It needed to be done, getting shot wasn't part of the plan but what can you do." His companion said leaning over dragging his right leg with him.

"Connor we can't keep going for long, your leg needs looking after."

"Aye I know, lets just rest for a bit." Connor said stopping.

His companion leant him against a wall and stood besides him.

"Well I'm waiting for a brilliant idea."

Connor looked up. "Shut up Murph, I'm trying to figure this shit out!" He said threw clenched teeth.

"Fuck you! I told you we should have never left Da in Ireland!" Murphy shot back.

"You know he was to weak to travel. I hate to say it, and if he hears me say it he would hit me over the head, but Da is getting old." Connor said closing his eyes. "He had a stroke for fuck's sake, he makes it out to be a cold."

"Shit he would kick your ass for that indeed." Murphy said taking a packet of cigarettes from his jacket, pulling two out and lighting them with a small smile.

Connor accepted the cigarette and took a drag, he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a piece off paper.

"I know where we can go." He said looking at his brother.

Late that night Tara staggered back into her apartment, Tigger sitting on the dresser waiting for her.

"Hey kitty." Tara said double tongued as she petted him more roughly then she intended.

Tigger looked at he and then jumped off the dresser in protest, he walked over to the sofa nestling himself on it.

"Grouch." Tara said making her way into her bedroom, as she got to it she pulled her jacket off, dropped it on the floor and walked over to the bed. Standing at the side of it for a moment she leant forward and landed on it, face down and still fully clothed.

Tara stirred, there was a very annoying rigging in her head.

Slowly she opened her eyes, her face was in the pillow but she saw the daylight coming in through the window at the side of her eye. It took her some time to realise that it was her phone that was creating the annoyance.

She reached for it and pressed the button, then pressed the phone against her ear. "I hate you." She said by means of answering it.

"No you don't you love me, you missed mass yesterday and if you don't get up now you will be late for mass today."

Her best friend said on the other side off the line.

"The reverent mother might not be to pleased if you miss both."

Tara's eyes shot open. "Oh shit! Tania you are a life saver! I totally intended to go to the late mass! But I got distracted by……by……by booze" She said now getting off the bed and walking to her closet.

"Let me guess the booze came with a good looking guy?" Tania asked with an airy tone.

"Hot looking guy, but before you ask he isn't here, meet me in five?"

"I'll bring the coffee." Tania said ending the conversation.

Fifteen minutes later then the agreed five minutes Tara walked down the steps off her building, Tania stood waiting for her.

"Hey, you really need to get an alarm clock you do know that don't you?" She said handing Tara a Styrofoam cup from the deli on the corner.

Tara gratefully took it and took a sip.

"I have one, the problem is that _noise_ it makes in the morning." She said smiling. "You been waiting long?"

Tania shook her head. "No just got here. You know me I always let you believe I will be here faster then I will be, makes you move faster. I had to run home to get a shower, call you, get to the corner and buy the coffee. I just got out off pulling a double header, but am now fully ready for church and then my bed" Tania moaned the last words.

Tara looked at her best friend, Tania was a 4th year resident at the hospital. "Do those people actually allow you to have a life?"

Tania laughed. "Not the first four years they don't, the closer you get to the end the more you have to work. Lets walk to the church it's not that far and the fresh air will keep me awake."

Tara nodded and they started to walk. "You've been pulling all the weird shifts lately how come?"

Tania looked at her. "Well believe it or not but the nights are better to work, they give you more experience with different things. You wouldn't believe some off the things I see coming through those doors."

Tara shook her head with a smile. "And here you go saying to people that you want to be a doctor to help people. You just like seeing all the weirdo's!"

"And you only became a cop to eat donuts." Tania said laughing.

They reached the church just in time and ran up the steps as they heard the bells ring for the last time.

At the inner door a statuesque figure was waiting for them.

"Both late as usual." A woman's gently said.

Tara took the woman's hand and kissed it. "Not late reverent mother."

Tania took her other hand and also kissed it. "Just exactly on time."

The older woman smiled at the both off them. "For almost twenty year I have know the both off you and you still use the same excuse. Hurry along inside now." She ushered the both off them with her hands.

At the beginning of the isle both Tara and Tania sank to on knee and drew a cross, then they took a seat in one off the back pews.

The reverent mother passed them with a small smile, she took her seat at the front with the rest off the sisters, The father got up and started his sermon with a prayer.

His voice flowed through the church and everyone started to join him.

_"Our Father who art in heaven.  
Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.  
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen"_

Half way though the sermon the father was disturbed by a beeping noise.

Everyone in the church looked up from their bible's and started to look round for the person responsible for the interruption.

Tara and Tania looked round as well until Tara turned round and looked at Tania.

"It's you!" She hissed.

Tania leant down and grabbed her beeper from her belt, quickly pressing the button on it.

Like she was 10 years old again she looked at the front pew down the middle off the isle. Staring straight into the reverent mothers eyes, she leant her head forward a bit ashamed she had forgot to switch it to silent mode.

After a few seconds she looked at Tara.

"I have to go, tell the reverent mother I am sorry." She grabbed her coat and got up.

"Call me tonight, and off course I will tell the reverent mother that it was an emergency." Tara sticking up her hand as Tania walked past her, in automated response Tania touched it and walked out off the church.

When the sermon was over Tara joined the line to greet the father and paid her respects, as well as Tania's explaining to him that her work had caused her to leave earlier.

"That is quite alright, she is a very good person, and if saving a life means having to leave in the middle off service then so be it." The father said with a smile.

Tara nodded and walked over to the reverent mother waiting for her.

"Tania was called back to the hospital Mother, she asked me to pay you her respects."

"Will you be joining me for tea?" The reverent mother asked with her hands folded in front off her

"You ask me this every Sunday, and have I ever said no?" Tara asked staring to walk along side her.

"Neither of you have not, but lately it seems that you two are so busy." The reverent mother said with a smile.

"Maybe I just long for the two young girls back, those sweet little girls who found it such a good experience to have tea with me on Sunday."

"Trust me it is still an experience, but we have become busy. My case load is growing each day and Tania is close to finishing her residency." Tara started.

"Child you need not explain, it was merely an observation. I always knew there would come a time when you would not come anymore." The reverent mother said with a smile. "You two have out grown me."

Tara stopped dead in her tracks and waited for the reverent mother to turn to her before she spoke.

"I know for a fact that I speak for Tania as well when I say that we will never out grow you. You have guided us through the years and made us the persons we are. I hardly knew my mother and when my father died you became both to me. I wouldn't know how to survive if I didn't have the set thought that I could always come to you for advise."

The reverent mother raised her hand to Tara's cheek. "Thank you." She said in a soft voice.

"No thank you." Tara said putting her own hand on the small hand on her face. "Shall we go and have tea now? I have been dying to have one of sister Alice's muffins all week."

"She always did spoil you." The reverent mother said with a smile taking the arm Tara offered her.

The afternoon passed by as Tara and the reverent mother talked about times long gone.

"Tara I have something to ask off you." The reverent mother said after a few seconds of silence. She put her tea cup down and looked at her young ward.

"What is it?" Tara said knowing that she meant every word by the seriousness off her face.

"I have thought long about asking you this but I do not know to whom else I can turn." The reverent mother stood up and walked to the window.

Tara got up as well, the sound off that sentence had made her do that.

"What is it, you know you can ask anything off me."

"This my dear might be to much, but I will tell you and then you can decide for yourself."

The reverent mother turned and looked at her before gesturing with her hand to sit down. Tara did as silently instructed and looked up.

"A few weeks ago I got a letter from my brother, he is currently staying over in Ireland. He told me that his sons were coming to America. He had told them that if they ever need help they should come to me. Now I have not spoken to my brother in many years, I did not even know where he was. But he was and still is my brother and I would not refuse his boys help if they would come to ask for it."

The reverent mother paused for a second.

"Last night, we were woken up by two men at the door. They told me that their father had given them this address in case they needed help. And they did need it indeed.

They are here now, staying in one of the sister's cell's but they can not remain here. You know the rules off our order, men are not allowed to stay within the walls of this sanctuary. Not even if they are relations to us, no one but you knows this, I have not told them either. They did not seem to know who I am and I do not know if it is my place to tell them."

Again the reverent mother paused and looked at Tara.

Tara got up and walked over to the woman. "You want to ask if I can take them in?"

"Only for a short while, until they are ready to move on again. They assure me it would only be for a few days." The reverent mother said.

Tara thought about it for a while as she looked upon the older woman standing in front off her.

How could she have guests? She had to go to work tomorrow! Thinking of work, what kind off trouble were these guys in? If it was serious what should she do? She was after all still a cop! Where would she put them? How could she ever refuse the reverent mother anything!

"They can come and stay with me for a few days, they would have to sleep on the couch and a stretcher but they can stay." Tara said eventually.

The reverent mother looked upon her with a smile. "Than you, I will take you to them." She said guiding Tara by the hand.

Tara followed silently, wondering to herself why on earth she hadn't listened to the little voice in the back off her head?"

"Connor, you awake?" Murphy asked looking at his brother lying on the small bed.

"Aye." Connor said his eyes still closed.

"We can't stay here for long, you do know that don't you? These are nuns, we can't drag them into all off this." Murphy said pointing at the door.

"I know! I talked to the reverent mother and she said she would try and find us somewhere else to stay." Connor said now looking at his brother.

Murphy sat on the wooden chair leant forward, his hands folded in-between his wide standing legs as he looked at Connor.

"How do you think Da knows this nun anyway huh? We show up in the middle off the night with you like that and she just puts us up."

"Doesn't matter does it? If Da would have thought we should have know he would have told us." Connor said now closing his eyes again, he wished they had let Murphy burn his wound shut. Instead they had insisted on cleaning it and dressing it tightly and now was hurting something fierce!

The door opened and the reverent mother walked in making Murphy shoot up out off his chair. "Hello."

"Hello, how is your brother doing?" The reverent mother asked.

"Ok, as good as can be expected." Murphy said offering her his chair.

"No thank you." She declined with a small smile. "I have come to tell you I have found you a place to stay."

"Great, we really didn't have anywhere else to go, cause then we would have never…" Murphy started but was silenced by the reverent mother raising her hand.

"Its is alright, Tara would you come in please."

Tara walked into the room and looked at the two men now in front off her.

"Tara this is Connor and that is Murphy." The reverent mother gestured from one to the other.

The look off the both of them made Tara's senses tingle a little. There was more to these two then met the eye. "Got any last names?" She asked looking at them critically.

Connor wanted to respond to that question and had already pronounced the Mc part off their name Murphy shot him a look.

"McDonald." Murphy said quickly.

Connor raised his eyebrows as he looked at his brother, what was he playing at?

Murphy looked from Connor to Tara's waist, there a police badge was clipped to her belt.

Connor nodded and lay back down.

"Tara has graciously offered to let you stay at her house for a few days." The reverent mother said looking at them.

"My apartment actually, but yeah." Tara said smiling at the reverent mother.

"That is very nice of you indeed." Connor said trying to get up again but his leg was bothering him to much.

"Aye." Murphy complied looking at her, he knew they could not turn her down. But he did not like the idea that she was a cop.

"Well Tara came here on foot so you will have to follow her later." The reverent mother said smiling a bit.

"I should go and do some shopping." Tara said thinking about the empty cavern that she called her fridge. "I should be home around 7 here is my address." Tara handed Murphy a piece of paper.

Murphy looked at her. "We'll se you there then." He said smiling a little to not make her suspicious.

Tara walked out off the room and the reverent mother lead her to the door.

"I again can not thank you enough." The woman said taking her hand.

"You are very welcome, I will see you in a few days." Tara said kissing the hand that held hers and walking out.

As she made her way down the street to the store near her house she thought about what she had just done. Things could go wrong on so many levels and in so many ways she shuddered at the thought.

Connor looked at Murphy. "We can not go in to the house off a cop! Have you forgot we are wanted in Boston and quite a few other places?"

"No I haven't! But what else do you want to do, huh? We can't stay here either these are fucking nuns! You totally went of the deep end when Rocco held a priest at gun point. But now you want to stay here and dump all the shit after us on a bunch off nuns!"

Murphy made no attempt to lower his voice although Connor did suss him.

"Well then we won't stay here but we won't go to that Tara's place either." Connor said trying to sound convincing.

"And how fucking far do you think you can get with that leg?" Murphy asked sarcastically.

Connor sank back into the pillows, he hated to admit it but Murphy was right. "Fine we will go there, but only long enough for my leg to heal up a bit."


	2. The next day

_Hello all!_

_So here is the second chapter to this story, it took me a while to finish and get it read by my beta but it is done now._

_Thank you to my reviewers: _

**SaintlyMe**Can't wait for more! This is really great so far!  
_Thank you and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well._

**Vivian Alexandra**MORE MORE MORE! Lol it's great love it. More!  
_Your wish is my command, so here is the more you wanted._

**Rea Josette**This was great so far! I can't wait for more, I'm so excited to read a romantic story in this category! I look forward to reading your next chapter and hopefully that will be soon. Heather  
_Glad you liked is, and I do tend to create some romance I just haven't figured out all the details just yet._

**anonymous** I like this story, I hope you continue it. I wanna know what happens.  
_Well keep on reading and you will most definitely find out._

**Chapter Two: The next day.**

"_The wound is for you, but the worry is for me."_

At exactly five minutes past 7 a taxi stopped in front off the building where Tara lived. Murphy helped Connor out and the both of them looked up.

"You ready for this?" Connor asked looking at Murphy again.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Murphy said hoisting his brother up against his own body a bit more.

Opening up the door to the building they each saw the stairs that were there and the obvious lack of an elevator. Connor let out a groan and Murphy swore in a way that would have made one of the nuns at St. Lucy's draw a cross.

Tara stood looking at the folding bed in the corner and the stack off sheets on top of it. What was she doing? She had always had a weakness for the reverent mother, but this was crazy! She was going to have two men in her house she knew nothing about. She walked over to her bedroom and checked the drawer containing her extra gun. Her other was safely strapped to her belt on her back, concealed by her shirt. Tigger was skulking round, like he knew that there was something coming.

Murphy practically dragged Connor to the door as he tried to wipe the sweat of his face with his free hand. "She just had to live on the 5th floor!" He sighed as he leant against the wall.

Connor just sighed in response, the way up the stairs had tired him out in a way he had never imagined.

Murphy took a deep breath and then knocked on the door.

Tara looked at the bed once more and then went to open the door, as she did Murphy and Connor practically fell in.

"He needs to lie down." Murphy said pointing at his brother.

Tara gestured to the couch and Murphy lay Connor on it before looking up at her again.

"What is wrong with him?" Tara asked giving Murphy a pillow to place under Connor's head.

"He…… His…… He hurt his leg." Murphy eventually said. He did not want to tell her the truth. Connor and he had decided to keep her in the dark as much as they could. Even though the reverent mother had spoken highly about her, there were only very few people they would trust and fewer of them were police officers.

"Ok." Tara said looking at him with her eyebrows raised, if he thought she would be less suspicious now he was way off base.

Before she could say another word her cell-phone rang, she walked to the kitchen to grab it off the table.

Murphy sat down in one of the arm chairs and looked round the room, just as his eyes glided over the couch a big ginger cat jumped on the edge of it. Glaring at him it sat down like it was its throne.

Murphy looked at it, it had a fat body and it's hairs stood in each direction but the same. The cat's face looked like it had a run in with a door, the door having come out the victor as the cats face seemed to be as flat as could be. "Man you're ugly, what is your name then huh?" He asked not taking his eyes of it.

"His name is Tigger, I have to go out for a while." Tara said walking back in from the kitchen. "So much for my night off." She said grabbing her jacket of the back of another chair. "There is food and drinks in the refrigerator I might be late. If there is anything you need me for my cell umber is next to the phone."

Tara closed the door behind her with mixed feelings, those guys were now in her house on their own. She had removed anything she thought was wrong for this situation and for the first time in years she didn't even have so much as a beer in the house.

She looked at the door once more and then made her way down the stairs, her car was still at the station so she was going to have to walk over there first.

Murphy watched her as she walked out of the door with those last words. Tigger jumped of the couch and made his way to Murphy's feet, just as Murphy leant down to pet him Connor opened his eyes.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, remember what happened the last time we got to close to a cat?"

Murphy looked up with a grin. "Technically that was Rocco's fault, if he hadn't hit the table…" He paused at the memory and shook his head.

"Yeah well I don't think Tara would take loosing her cat as simply as Donna did." Connor said looking at him.

"Aye." Murphy said smiling some more.

"But then again she doesn't look like the type that uses drug either. I wonder what exactly she does at the police." Connor said, his face mimicked his thoughts.

Tara looked round the office she was standing in, chalk outlines marked the floor where the body's had been lying. "So what happened?" She asked looking at the investigator picking bullet casings of the floor.

"What does it look like? They had a tea party and the tea cosy blew up!" The man sarcastically said.

"No need to get all touchy here." Tara said crossing her arms.

"Sorry it's been a long ass day and it looks to become an even longer night, this place is a mess. I've got casings from at least 9 guns, only four off which are of the same make. I have been at it since they cleared the bodies out, but I reckon I have a good few hours left before I have catalogued the whole scene." The investigator returned to his work and Tara walked over to a uniformed officer standing in the corner.

"You found them?"

The young man looked at her, he was a white as a sheet. "I…I did." He said in a weak voice.

"Ah a first timer, please tell me you have a partner." Tara said recognising a rookie who had just seen his first dead. The guy nodded and pointed towards the door, where an officer she knew at Tommy Shannon walked in. "Shannon, what happened?"

"A derelict office building with four cars parked outside it for two days is bound to get you a call. We got here and found five of them on the floor shot to bits. Junior here didn't take to well to that." Shannon showed a smile as he nudged his head toward the rookie she had talked too. "So we called in the coroner, the investigation guys and you lot." He gestured round the room.

Tara looked at him again while a fellow detective handed her five pictures, she skimmed through them and smirked a bit. "The shit is going to hit the fan now, these guys are all Tony Scoresy's men. I'm not talking pion's either, these are some of his heaviest hitters." She handed the pictures back. "The captain is just going to love this!"

"Actually detective I am not having that much fun!" Her captain boomed behind her. "We need to find out what happened and we need to do so now! If Scoresy even suspects another collective or syndicate had anything to do with this, people are going to start dropping like flies." The captain leant against the desk as he looked at her.

"Why are you staring at me? There are more of us you know." Tara said knowing what was going to come.

"Yeah but you are the mob expert." He answered back, air quoting the word mob.

"Look I just got here, all I can tell you now is that these guys." She grabbed the pictures out off the other detective's hand and threw them on the desk. "Are not your basic number runners, they came here with a purpose. Now I can go out and squeeze every informant I have but still I might just have a hard time getting any information. If these guys came together they did so for a special reason, they all run a different part of Scoresy's operation. They don't work together at all!" Tara was frustrated, as she would get when not in the know of what could have happened.

The investigator got of his feet and put his tools down for a moment. "All I can tell you is that who ever did this was good. As far as I can tell it was an open-the-door-shoot-everything-you-can-hit job. But they did take the time to close the eyes of the dead and place pennies on them." He put his hand in his case and pulled out an evidence bag which held coins. "I have been on the job long enough to tell you that your basic mob hit man doesn't do that. Some off the more classy ones might, but they would never go for the approach used here."

Tara took the bag and looked at the coins, this sounded familiar but she couldn't place it. "Chances of prints?" She asked.

"Slim too none, I can tell you where each off the other guys has been without a problem but the shooter or shooters is a different story." The investigator shook his head.

"Oh isn't that just great! Call me when you get something definite." Tara said handing him back the coins as she started to walk out.

"Where are you going Callahan?" The captain demanded to know.

"I'm going to squeeze some dirt." Tara said looking back for a split second.

Murphy put the remote control down and looked at Connor as he lay there with his eyes closed. His face was flushed and every now and then he flinched of pain. He had moved his brother onto the folding bed, hoping he would be a bit more comfortable.

Although he would not admit it if asked he felt helpless, Connor was in pain and there wasn't much he could do about it. He sighed as he leant back again, Tigger was spread out on the couch beside him and purred a bit. Raising his hand to take a drink from the can in his hand he looked at the red colour of it. He needed a stiff drink and all he had been able to find was a soda.

There was a thud a mans body hit the wall. "Mario, now you know I really don't like it when you lie." Tara grunted at the guy she was holding onto. It was a good thing this snitch was a feeble little shit or she would have never been able to do this.

"I swear on my mother I have no idea what you are talking about!" Mario said looking at her, little pearls of sweat on his face.

"Come on Mario! The top shelf of Scoresy's men get bumped off and you are telling me no one knows why!" Tara tightened her grip, trying as best she could not to breathe in too much of his nauseating cologne.

"They don't! Word on the street is that Scoresy is pissed as hell and he is pulling out all the stops to find who ever did it, but no one knows!" Mario sounded closer to whimpering than to speaking.

Tara lowered him to the ground, this was her third informant and none off them had more news then that Scoresy was pissed and no one knew who was responsible.

"Can I go now?" Mario asked hesitant looking at her as he pulled his shirt back in place.

"Yeah, but remember…" Tara started but Mario cut her off.

"As soon as I hear anything you will be the first to know." He said hastily making his way towards the end of the ally.

Tara sighed, this was getting her nowhere, she would just go back tot he station and check if the reports for the coroner had been done yet. Then she would go home.

Murphy looked at the phone again as for the 5th time that night it rang. He wondered if he should pick it up. He shook his head and decided not to, who ever it was they would call back. As soon as the phone stopped ringing he walked over and pulled the cord out off the wall, not wanting it to ring again and wake up Connor, who had finally fallen a sleep.

Murphy had taken off his shirt and was spread out over the couch, he had been trying to fall asleep but had yet to succeed. He sighed and closed his eyes again when he heard the click of the lock. Thinking it was Tara returning he got up.

Tania walked through the door of Tara's apartment, the lights were off so she might not be there. She had decided to come over after she had finished her shift, to see why the phone had gone dead. She hit the light switch and walked in only to stop dead in her tracks at the sight of the half naked guy in front off her.

"Who the fuck are you!" She grabbed her backpack and pulled out a small canister.

"I could ask you the same thing." Murphy said looking back at her, he moved his foot slightly to see if his bag was still there, the bag that contained his guns.

"Where the hell is Tara?" Tania asked walking in slightly.

"She went out for a while." Murphy answered following her every move.

Tania surveyed the room and then saw a second person on the foldout bed. "And who the hell it he!"

"Look why don't you just calm down………" Murphy said raising his hands slightly and looking at her.

"Screw you! I wont calm down until you tell me where Tara is and who the hell you two are! Don't even think about moving this is pepper-spray!" Tania said while moving to the chest of drawers close to her, is she wasn't mistaken Tara kept a spare handgun in there.

"What are you doing?" Murphy asked still looking at her.

"Just stay where you are." Tania said looking at him and then at the drawer.

Tara walked up the stairs and heard voices, she first thought that her neighbours were having a fight again but then she recognised Tania's voice. Quickly she started to run up the stairs. Walking in on Tania still holding the can and Murphy looking at her.

"What is going on?" She asked looking at the scene in front of her.

"You tell me!" Tania asked looking at her. "Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to call you all night! And who the hell are they?"

"Put that down." Tara said pointing at the can in Tania's hand. "They are staying with me for a few days. Murphy meet Tania." Tara said looking from Murphy to Tania.

"They are _staying for a few days?_" Tania asked looking at her best friend. "Can I talk to you for a second?" She nudged her head toward the kitchen.

Tara followed Tania into the kitchen and sat down in a chair.

"What is going on here?" Tania crossed her arms and looked down on her.

"Nothing, I had tea with the rev. And she asked me If I could take them in for a few days." Tara said hating to have to lie about the reality.

"The rev. Asked you to put these two up? So why didn't you call me?" Tania was stunned.

"Yeah she did, and I had to go away for work so I left before I could have called."

"So who are they?" Tania asked now sitting down playing with the canister in her hands.

"They are Murphy and Connor McDonald, the rev knows them and they needed some help." Tara said looking at her.

"What kind of help? Are they in trouble?" Tania's head had shot up when she had heard the word help.

"I don't know, the rev. Said they needed help. How can I refuse her anything? How could you for that matter?" Tara said getting up again.

"Neither of us could, but you don't know jack about them. You should try and find out what they are about." Tania said leaning back in her chair.

Just before Tara could speak again Murphy walked into the room. "Sorry to interrupt but have you got painkillers or something Connor isn't doing to good." He pointed back to the living room.

"What is wrong with him?" Tania asked sitting up again.

"Something with his leg." Tara said opening a drawer and searching for a box of painkillers.

"I could have a look." Tania said getting up and walking past Murphy before he could react.

"I really don't think that is a good idea!" Murphy said going after her.

Connor reached for her hands to stop her but Tania brushed them away.

"Trust me I'm a doctor, well almost." Tania said leaning down and pulling the blanket of Connor. She saw the bandage wrapped round his right leg and also saw the dark red spot on it. "That is seeping through, it needs to be redone."

Murphy was trying to find an excuse for her not to take off the bandage but as he did she had already removed it.

"Ok this is new." Tania said looking at the gun shot wound in the leg.

Connor opened his mouth to speak but he was trying to think off a way to explain the wound with out revealing the truth.

"I……We……That……Oh fuck!" Murphy said rubbing the back off his head.

"Tara, bring out the first aid kit would you." Tania said throwing a look at Murphy. "Where did he get this?"

Tara came out off the kitchen holding onto the it Tania had asked for. "There are no painkillers in here so why did you ask for it?"

"Well Buddy boy over here has a GSW to his leg." Tania said pointing at Connor's leg.

"He's got what!" Murphy asked coming closer. "I thought he got shot!"

"A GSW is a gun shot wound! And what do you mean he has one?" Tara said getting closer.

"See for yourself, not too shabby either." Tania said pointing at it. "I think the bullet is still in there."

Tara leant forward and looked at the wound. "What the hell." She started and then looked at Connor.

"Look I can explain." Connor said sitting up.

"You'd better!" Tara said putting the first aid kit down and automatically checking her back to see if her gun was still within reach.

"We ran into some guys, they started trouble and before we knew it they had pulled a gun on us. We tried to get away but they shot Connor." Murphy said getting a bit closer.

"Why didn't you go to the police?" Tara said as she watched Tania dab the wound with some cotton balls.

"Cause we might have been a bit too drunk and we weren't exactly on the best off behaviour." Connor said trying to get Tara's focus away from his brother.

"Ok not focusing on who is to blame for a second, you need to get to a hospital with this. Who ever wrapped it up did an ok job but the bullet needs to come out." Tania said looking over her shoulder.

"Fine I will call for an ambulance." Tara said grabbing her phone.

"NO!" Both Murphy and Connor said at the same time.

"What?" Tara asked looking at them in turn.

"No hospital's." Connor said flinching as he tried to move.

"Oh sure we will just leave this as it is." Tania said pointing at his leg.

"Can't you fix it?" Murphy asked looking over her shoulder.

"No I can't brainiac, taking out the bullet is one thing that needs to be done. And then secondly the wound needs to be disinfected and packed right if it is to close and heal properly." Tania said looking over her shoulder again.

"We can take out the bullet and burn it shut." Connor said once again trying to move.

"This is just too weird! You need to get to a hospital." Tania said pushing him down.

"We've done it before." Connor protested.

Tania looked at Tara who raised her shoulders as a sign she didn't know what to do.

"Look we won't go to a hospital, so you can either help us or walk away now." Murphy said looking at the both off them.

Tara looked at him in amazement, this guy was not ordering her round in her own house!

"Look if that is the case I guess I'd better take the bullet out." Tania said looking at them.

"You what!" Tara started.

"Look if they really don't want to go to a hospital it is better that I take the bullet out then someone who had no clue about what they are doing." Tania said looking at her.

"This is my house we are talking about! This isn't the ER you know! How on earth do you think you are going to pull this off?" Tara said rubbing her face.

"I will look round and see what you have, then I will just have to make due." Tania plainly responded.

Just as Tara wanted to start again her phone rang, she pulled it out off her pocket and answered it.

"Callahan……No I am at home……Can't this wait?" She pulled her phone away from her ear and waited until the heavy mail voice stopped yelling on the other end off the line. "Ok…Ok…captain calm down I will be there in 15 minutes." Tara said hanging up the phone. "I have to go, work and all that."

"It can't wait?" Tania asked looking up from a drawer she had been rummaging through.

"Did you not hear my captain lovingly yell at me? This can't wait sorry, if this case blows up I will be doing massive amounts off over time." Tara said grabbing her jacket. "Look do what you have to but this discussion isn't over by a long way." Was the last thing she said before closing the door.

Tania looked at Murphy who was still standing besides the couch. "Go and get some towels from the bathroom."

She then walked over to the coffee table and put some things down on it.

Connor looked at the Nail file, tweezers and small scissors that lay there. "What are you planning with those?"

"Well I thought I'd give you a manicure……I'm using that stuff to get the bullet out genius." Tania said looking at him with her hands in her sides.

"No need to get sarcastic." Conner rebutted as he looked at her.

"Look I'm just about to take a bullet out off a human being with a nail file, tweezers and home first aid! Excuse me for not being miss congeniality!" Tania said feeling nervous, thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

"Calm down this isn't the first time this has been done to me, it will be fine." Connor said not sounding the least bit anxious.

"Yeah well you might be used to this but I sure as hell am not." Tania said walking to the kitchen to get the first aid kit.

Tara walked down the stairs and thought about what was about to happen in her apartment. She knew she should have stopped them, but what was she to do? This was a favour to the reverent mother and she knew that besides Tania she was the only one who would never deceive her. But the two men who were now up there were definitely hiding something. That excuse they had used for the bullet wound had been one off the lamest things she had ever heard.

She decided to ask someone in the precinct to look into it, if they found nothing then it would be ok, if they did find something she would at least know who and what she was dealing with.

Quickly she walked over to the precinct and walked up to her department.

As soon as he came through the double doors she heard her captain shout for her.

Casually walking into his office with no other means then to annoy him she leant against the door post. "You bellowed?"

"Callahan! I want to know what you got out off your informants. The buzz on the streets is killing us and I want some active response." He said getting up from his chair and walking over to her.

"Well the good news is I talked to all off them, the bad news is they all came up with squat." Tara said looking at him.

"What do you mean?" He captain said sounding agitated.

"Squat means I got nothing." Tara said not looking away.

"Stop being a smart ass! I know what it means! Why can't any off them tell you anything?" Her captain said slamming his hand down on his desk.

"Wait I'll just pop over to my crystal ball for that one! I have no idea, I talked to all my guys with connections to all the major families but no one has called the hit. All off my guys on Scoresy's side say that he is pissed as hell. If they find these guys before we do they're as good as dead." Tara said walking further into the office now.

"So basically we are in the dark on this one." Her captain groaned.

"Well these have to be out-off-towners, as no one knows a thing. I gave some orders to run the MO through the database to see if we can't dig anything up but I wouldn't keep my hopes up." Tara said looking at her captain.

Tania walked to the coffee table and placed a pan of scolding hot water on it, so she could at least attempt to sterilise some off the things she would be working with.

"I need to find something to shut the wound with." She thought aloud.

"You could use a clothes iron." Murphy said looking at her.

"Yeah sure sparky." Tania said looking at him.

"Hey we did it before, actually does quite a good job." Murphy said looking serious.

Tania sighed, she couldn't think off anything else. "Fine there is one in the bottom cabinet."

Once Murphy had got the iron and had plugged it in he helped her put Connor on the coffee table , Tania had cleared, and then she leant over looking at the wound.

"Ok I would be seriously lying if I said this wasn't going to hurt." She said picking up the tweezers and dabbing the wound with some disinfectant.

Connor just nodded as he bit down on the towel Murphy was holding in his mouth.

Tania looked at him once more before she put her own knee on his good leg and leant closer even more.

Murphy tried as hard he could to Keep Connor from moving as the tweezers made their way into his leg. He himself looked away a bit, this seemed more gorse then when doing it himself.

Tania tried to work as fast as she could as not to cause more pain then was needed, she had been trained to do this kind off work. But this was different from other gun shot wounds she had treated, now she did not have all the usual equipment to her disposal and she felt nervous about it.

Murphy heard a soft clang as the bullet hit the bottom off the pan with water in it. Tania looked up at him and then reached for the clothes iron which by now had reached the highest temperature. She whipped the skin round the wound once more with the antiseptic cloth and looked at both Connor and Murphy once more before pressing it down on Connor's leg.

Tara sat at her desk as she looked at her email, the clerk she had asked to dig up any information on her two house guest had just email her that he would get right on it.

She leant back and tried to focus on the case she should be working on, her captain had a right to be nervous. If this wasn't solved fast it would mean war.

Murphy looked at his brother lying on the bed, almost as pale as the sheet that was covering him. "Will he be ok? He looks worse then the last time."

"To be honest I don't have a clue, we'll have to wait and see, at the moment that is all we can do." Tania said looking away from him and starting to clean up around her.


	3. As time has passed

**Ok so here is yet another chapter, I know it took me a while to do but other things (bad evil things!) Made sure that I wasn't able to write for a while.**

**But now I am back and hoping to give you updates more sooner then the time it took me to complete this one!**

**To my reviewers:**

_**boondockgal   
**Great! Like it alot!_

**Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it and I hope this next chap will do the same for you.**

Rea Josette 

_i was so excited to see you wrote another chapter! I thought this story might be abondaned! As you can imagine i am thrilled to see you havent i also look foward to your next chapter and some romance which i am a sucker for!_

**I never intended to abandon this story, but sometimes it takes me a while to make a chapter exactly like I want it. (I'm my own worst critic lol). As far as the romance goes I am still trying to figure out how I will be setting that up, but I hope to please you in the next chapter.**

_**murpheysbaby**_

I really love this story- PLEASE UPDATE SOON! i just love murphey. please tell me him and tara get together?

**Thank you, and Sorry it took me so long :D As far as the Murphy/Tara thing……I can't seem to make up my mind if she will………..(I will ponder on that some more for the next chapter)**

**_Sandra-h   
_**This was really, really, really great! Hurry up with the next chapter. Can't wait for more!

**Well here is the more you wanted, as for the next chapter I hope I can speed that along sooner then this one ;)**

**Chapter Three: As time has passed.**

_"Have patience, and endure"  
_

As the days had passed, Connor slowly became better, Tara had spent most of her time working leaving Connor and Murphy in her house.

As the weekend drew near she realized that his had been one off the longest weeks in her life.

Sitting on her chair at her desk, her feet lazily raised on the edge off it, she looked at the files that were spread out over it. The phone gave a sharp ring and without giving it a second change to ring she picked it up.

"Yeah?"

"Hey Tara, it's Tania. I will be going over to your place later to check on Connor's leg, will you be there?"

Tara sighed as she looked at the matted glass door of her captains office. "I'm going to try and sneak out off here in a few minutes, I just have to wait for the hell beast to loose his focus for a few seconds."

"You had better watch out he doesn't catch you saying that!" Tania said with a laugh.

"I don't care what he hears, I will see you in a few." Tara said as they ended the conversation.

Murphy was moving round the living room, closely watched by a still ever reluctant Tigger. "I swear the cat has got it in for me." He mumbled looking into the cats eyes.

"You've lost it haven't you?" Connor said looking up at him from the bed, still in the room.

"No I haven't! That beast keeps looking at me like it wants to eat me." Murphy said still not taking his eyes off the cat.

"Did I hear that right? Is all-go-no-fear-I'm-the-greatest-in-the-world Murphy scared of a little pussy cat?" Connor said with a huge grin.

"Fuck you I'm not scared off shit, and if your leg wasn't that bad I'd give you something to be scared about!" Murphy said looking at him now.

"You couldn't take me even if you wanted to." Connor said before lying back down.

Murphy walked round once more and then ended up at the display off picture frames lining the wall. He surveyed them for a moment and then stopped to look at one more closely.

"Funny to think that she actually looked like this." He said pointing at a picture of a girl about 12 years old in a dress standing on the steps off a church.

"See she has this strange expression on her face, I think it could almost be described as a smile. I wonder what happened to her to turn her into the grouch we have been around all week?" Although he had wondered the last thing he had said it out loud.

Connor raised himself once more. "She got us squatting in her house, trust me she's not stupid, she knows things aren't right. I think you are paying a bit too much off attention to her."

Murphy looked away from the picture and glared at him. "Ok just to remind you; Da is still alive so you don't need to turn into him just yet."

"I'm not trying to be Da! But you have to be honest, all you have been talking about this week is Tara." Connor said in a more gentle voice.

"Yeah well… … that's because I've been cooped up in here all week haven't I." Murphy said sitting down.

"Then go out and do something."

"Yeah sure! And what the hell am I supposed to do huh? I can't really go out and do what we came here to do, she's suspicious enough as it is." Murphy said closing his eyes for a second.

"Then go out for a walk or something, God knows I would love to get out off this place." Connor sighed.

"Listen its your own bloody fault for getting shot! If you hadn't been stupid enough and stepped in front off me we wouldn't be here!" Murphy said in a raised voice.

"Yeah well if you would have shot the guy in the corner he wouldn't have had a chance to shoot me in my fucking leg now would he!" Connor shot back.

"Oh! It just keeps getting better! Now it's my fault you got shot?" Murphy said getting up again.

"Look we shouldn't fight over this, what we should be thinking about is getting out off here." Connor said sitting up again.

"Aye, and besides if we did fight we would both know I'd kick your ass." Murphy said with a smile.

Tara made her way to the door off her floor, thinking she had made a clean escape she sighed and slowed down her pass.

"Where the hell do you think you are going?" The heavy voice off her captain boomed behind her.

Slowly she turned. "Well according to most people there is a place you call home. It's kind off the place where you rest and do things that make you qualify as having a life. I sort off thought I'd check out if I had one."

"I want you back here tomorrow morning, bright and early!" The captain said looking at her.

"What ever, can I go now!' Tara said looking at him.

"Fine, but remember, bright and early!"

Tara walked the streets to go home, she sighed as the un-solvability of the case was weighing heavy on her. She had yet to encounter a case she couldn't solve and she was sorry to think this might be the one. Her captain and the rest off the team were as determined as she was but she feared it wasn't good enough.

On the corner of her street she saw Tania walking up to her building, she smiled as she walked on. How lucky was she to have her as a best friend? What other person would help you out with a gunshot victim without asking any questions?

When she reached her apartment she could hear the three others talking as, she paused for a moment with her hand on the door handle. How long would this last? She could not keep those two here for that long.

She opened the door and walked in on Tania just redressing the bandage on Connor's leg.

"It's looking good even if I say so myself." She said putting on the last bit off plaster.

"Well I can't thank you enough." Connor said looking at her, then he turned to the door and half smiled. "Hey, you are back."

"Good thing you are so perceptive." Tara said throwing her keys on the table and looking at Tania. "How is he doing?"

"Fine, it's healing up nicely." Tania said getting up and putting away the things she had been using.

"So we will be out off your hair in no time." Connor said looking at Tara.

Tigger who was pleased to see someone he liked came walking in the room, he walked passed Murphy's leg and gave a deep hiss before walking towards Tara.

"Stupid beast." Murphy said looking at the fat ginger cat.

Tara picked the cat up and cuddled it. "He isn't stupid, just a very good judge off character, aren't you baby?' She pressed her face in Tigger' fur and kissed him.

"It's a cat, how can that judge character?" Murphy said with a scowl.

"He sure as hell has you pegged!" Connor said at a laugh.

"Fuck you." Murphy spat at him.

"Now boys play nice!" Tania said walking back in. "I'm going to get some shopping you have nothing in your kitchen." She said looking at Tara.

"Ok, why don't you take Mr. Cranky with you?" Tara said nudging her head towards Murphy.

"Sure." Tania said walking to the door waiting on Murphy to follow, but before he did he walked over to his bag. Tania could not see what he was doing but she paid no mind to it. After he had got what he wanted he followed her.

After the other two left Tara sat down on the couch Tigger nestled on her lap.

"Your brother is in a bit off a bad mood." She said absentmindedly stroking the cats head.

"He doesn't like being in the same place for to long." Connor replied looking at her.

"What about you?"

Connor smiled. "I adapt easily."

"Don't get to comfortable this is only temporary." Tara said getting up and putting Tigger down.

"I know."

"Good, cause as soon as you can leave you have to, I don't know what is going on but you are only here because I am doing the Rev a favor." Tara said moving into the kitchen.

"This is kind of a big favor you are doing!" Connor half yelled from the couch.

"Yeah well the Rev has special privileges when it comes to favors, she raised me." Tara said walking back in with a drink.

"She raised you?" He asked half sitting up.

"Yeah, my father got killed when I was young. I had no other family so I ended up with the Rev in the orphanage." Tara said casually.

"How did he die? If you don't mind me asking." Connor asked looking at her.

"He got shot , he was on the force. He pulled a guy over for a broken tail light, turned out there was a warrant out on him. When my father walked up to the car window the guy pulled a gun and shot him." Tara said gloomy.

"I'm sorry to hear that, is that why you joined the force as well?" Connor said thinking off her as a small girl loosing her father.

"I guess, as long as I can remember I wanted to be a police officer. I used to wear my father's hat when he was off duty. Arresting him for offences like not putting his dishes away." Tara said with a smile.

"So it is kind off a family thing, I get that." Connor said thinking of his own father.

Tania walked down the street flanked by Murphy who didn't say a word, she wondered what he was thinking.

"Fuck it's good to be out off there." He said out off the blue looking at the people on the street.

"Why did you stay in then? You could have walked round before." Tania said looking at him.

"Connor." Murphy said shortly.

"He would be fine on his own for a while you know, he doesn't need constant minding." Tania said smiling.

"He's my brother, I am supposed to take care off him."

"Well you two fight quite a bit." Tania said with a smile.

"Comes with the territory, it's all in good fun." Murphy said lighting a cigarette.

"Threatening to beat him up is a bit off fun?" She replied with her eyebrow raised.

"If he can kick fuck out off me for no reason so can I." Murphy said smiling, remembering their last fight.

"That officially classifies you two as weird." Tania said looking at him.

"What like you and your brothers and sisters don't fight!" Murphy said kind off insulted.

"I don't have any, the closest thing to a sister I have is Tara." She said kind off gloomy.

"Fuck, I'm sorry, let me just take my foot out off my mouth here." He said looking at her.

"It's fine, I've actually had a lot of time to get used to the idea." She replied with a smile.

When they reached the store Tania pulled the door open and was pushed aside by a guy running out off it.

"STOP HIM! He shot the clerk!" A woman screamed looking at the two off them.

With out giving it a second thought Murphy let go off the door and started to run after the man.

Tania hurried into the shop to see if she could help the man who was shot.

Murphy was running as fast as he could but this asshole was fast, when he ran round the corner into an ally Murphy pulled out the gun he had taken with him.

Trying to keep up with him he missed his chance while the man walked into a derelict building and the door was bolted.

Swearing to himself Murphy leant against the wall while he was trying to catch his breath.

Once he had returned his breath pace to normal he pushed himself off the wall and looked to see if there was a window.

Finally he spotted a window a little ways above the ground, climbing on top of the dumpster along side the wall he peered in.

The room looked like it had been lived in, there was a bed and a chair, also there was a stack off things beside the bed. But unfortunately the guy was nowhere to be seen, with a sigh he jumped off the dumpster.

He put his gun back and slowly started to walk back to the shop.

As he reached the corner he saw a police car standing at the curb, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned back again.

Now peering round the corner he recognized Tania talking to one of officers.

With a sigh he grabbed a cigarette and light it, as long as the police were there he could not go there.

"I don't know what happened, I walked into the store and the woman yelled that the clerk had been shot." Tania said with a sigh.

"And that man behind you ran after him!" The woman who was standing next to her giving her statement said looking at her.

"Do you know that man?" The officer looked at her with a questioning look.

For a second Tania hesitated, what was she supposed to do now? Was she to tell him that she knew Murphy? Then they would want to talk to him and ask him questions, that would lead them to Tara. Remembering the words off Tara that they guys were in some sort off trouble he shook her head. "No."

It took forever for the police to let Tania go, after they finally had she looked round the street to see if she could spot Murphy.

From round the corner she saw a dark head off hair and casually she started to walk toward him.

"What took you so long?" He asked when she had finally turned the corner and was facing him.

"They kind of have this habit of being thorough when someone is shot." Tania said looking at him. "Where the hell were you?"

"I figured I'd best stay out off the way." Murphy said lighting a cigarette. "I never caught the guy either.'' He sounded down trodden at that fact.

"Let's just get some food and get out off here." Tania said as she started to walk.

"Why did the clerk get shot anyway?" Murphy asked looking at her sideways.

"The woman said the shooter had been talking about protection money and the clerk refused to pay. When the guy got to agitated he pulled out the gun and shot." Tania said looking at her feet. She was used to death but not like this, not while there was help that could have been offered. But the ambulance had been to late.

Tara was done talking to Connor, in the back off her head she knew he might mean well but all this talk off her father wasn't making her mood any better.

"What did I say?" Connor asked looking at her grim expression.

"Nothing, I just don't want to talk about it anymore." Tara said looking out the window.

"Are you angry?"

Tara sighed, and got up. "No I am not, but keep asking me that and I will be."

"Look all I asked was where you came from, I don't see the harm in that." Connor insisted.

"Well let me put it this way, you show me yours and I will show you mine." Tara said taunting knowing he would not start on that subject and he would leave her alone.

"Right…." He said looking at her again before turning his attention to a paper that was lying on the coffee table.

After they had gone to another shop Tania and Murphy walked back to the apartment, not a word had been said after their last small conversation.

Murphy just walked along side her, a bag of shopping in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

"Well it took you long enough, where did you go for food Mexico?" Tara said as she heard the door open.

"We ran into a shooting, I got caught up by having to give a statement to the police." Tania said putting her bag down.

"What about you?" Connor asked his brother.

"I chased the guy but lost him." Murphy said calm as he walked into the kitchen.

"Is everything ok?" Tara said immediately getting up and looking at Tania.

"I'm fine, the clerk who got shot died, I tried everything but the ambulance was just to late." Tania said gloomy.

"Well I'm glad you are ok." Tara said putting her arm round Tania and guiding her into the kitchen.

"Murphy get out while I cook would you?" Tara said pushing Murphy out while she started to unpack the food.

"Good thing she isn't pushy or anything." Murphy said sitting down and pointing at the kitchen door.

"Never mind that, what happened?" Connor hissed looking at him.

Murphy started to tell him everything he had seen, that he had followed the shooter and he knew where he was holding up.

"Well you know what needs to be done don't you." Connor said looking at him.

"Aye, but we usually do this together. Why don't we wait until your healed up a bit." Murphy said looking back at him, they were a partnership in this.

"Because you know where that piece of shit is, if we wait he might pack up and disappear!" Connor looked at him with a look Murphy knew all to well, it was scary how Connor could look like their father sometimes.

"Fine I will do it tonight." Murphy hissed as he got up.

"Good." Was all Connor said lying back again.

When Tara had finished cooking they all sat down for dinner, Tania, Murphy and herself at the table, Connor sitting with a plate on his lap.

Knowing there was something off about Murphy but not able to determent what Tara sat opposite him during dinner. He was to quiet for his own good, when she had eaten with them before, he was either cracking jokes about her cooking or pestering his brother.

"What is up with you?" She finally asked looking at him.

"Nothin' I just don't feel like talking much." He said spooning another load of food into his mouth.

If what she witnessed next had not occurred she would have thought nothing of it, but Tara noticed Murphy giving Connor a glance. The latter raised one of his eyebrows slightly and then gave a small nod.

'_What are these two up to?'_ She wondered as she returned her attention to her food, but also keeping an eye on the two brothers.

After dinner Tania left to get to her nightshift, now Tara was caught in a silence with the brothers. The only one in the room who was producing any sort of communication was Tigger as he lay spread out over her lap, purring under the gentle strokes she gave him.

Like hit by lighting Murphy suddenly stood up. "I'm going for a walk." He said not looking at her or Connor.

"This late?" Tara asked raising her eyebrows.

"It's not that late and I need some fresh air, dinner is starting to take revenge on me." He patted his stomach as he walked behind the couch.

As quiet as he could be Murphy took his guns from the black bag half hidden under the back of the couch. Slowly he slipped them into the pockets of his coat.

"Do I need to bring anything back for you guys?" He asked holding his coat closed as he looked down on Tara and his brother.

"Everything is closed Einstein, but thanks anyway." Tara said throwing him a look.

"And she wonders why I need to get out of here." Murphy directed his comment to his brother, then he turned and walked out.

The next morning Tara awoke from an annoying sound as usual, but the sound was not produce by her alarm clock.

She reached for her phone and pressed it against her ear. "WHAT!" She half shouted half yawned into the receiver.

"Get your ass out off bed and to the corner of 75th street and Montell boulevard!"

"Good morning to you to captain." Tara said getting up.

"Didn't you hear me?"

"I did but I'm still trying to open my eyes if you don't mind." She now got up and looked at the time.

"Didn't I say I wanted you at work early?"

"Captain it is 5:30 in the morning, the whole city is a sleep!" Tara grumbled as she reached for some clean clothes and a towel.

"And some off them are corpses! Now get over here now!" Her captain yelled again.

"Alright, alright! Give me a chance to grab a shower and I will be right there!" Before he could answer Tara hung up, knowing he would say something along the lines of forget the shower if she allowed him to talk.

_Even though it was pitch black in the ally Murphy knew where he was going, he never forgot a face or a place._

_Slowly he crept up to the dumpster, pulling his mask out of his pocket as he went._

_After he put on his mask he then checked if his guns were ok, he felt nervous. This was the first time he would be doing something like this alone._

_Underneath the warm wool of his mask he could feel little droplets of sweat form._

_Shaking his head to get rid of the insecurity he felt he looked up at he window which had a shine in it from a small light._

Her hair still wet from her shower Tara got our of her car, the place where she needed to be not easily missed. There was yellow tape round the ally and a door stoop open, police men walking in and out.

She took her badge and placed it round her neck with the chain attached to it, she grabbed a pair of gloves standing on a stretched by the door.

Barely getting time to get her eyes used to the darkness she now walked into she was called out to.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Relax captain, who ever died they weren't exactly going somewhere were they?" She said snapping the last glove on her hand.

"Why am I here anyway, I thought I was to focus on those mob hits and nothing else?" She said walking closer to the medical examiner and the captain.

"Well we got a little surprise, same MO (Mode of Operation) as the others." The captain said pointing at the body on the floor.

_Murphy hoisted himself up onto the dumpster and looked through the window, he could see a bolt on the door, there was no entry there._

_For a second he stood there thinking how he could deal with this the best._

_Then he placed his hands on the windowsill and hoisted himself up, he would be able to fit through the window._

_With one last jump he got up to the windowsill and took a deep breath, then he took one of his guns and made a swipe at the window._

_The glass immediately broke and startled the man inside, without giving it another thought he pulled his other gun and fired 3 shots._

Tara bent through her knees and looked at the lifeless body of the man, he wasn't all that old. There seemed to be no sign off a struggle, she looked at the wound in his chest and then saw the other wounds on his arms and leg.

"This was the killing shot." She said pointing at the hole in the chest. "This was a thorough job, but where de he get in?"

She got up and looked round the room, then she looked at the medical examiner.

"Looks to me like he came in through the window, glass fallen inwards and by the angle of the arm and leg wounds for now I'd say he got shot from above.

_Murphy took a deep breath, glad it had gone so easy. He had broken through the window and had surprised the man. He had jumped down into the room listening to the man's whimpering cries not to kill him. But how could he not take the life of a person who had taken one or more himself?_

_Now he stood bent over the body, his mask now halfway to the top of his head. He looked into the mans eyes as he placed his gun over the heart of his victim. He closed his eyes for a second and then pulled the trigger, no sound could be heard except for the soft 'pop' his silencer made._

_Now once again looking at the lifeless man on the floor he dug into his pockets and found the two penny's._

_He crossed the mans arms, closed his eyes and placed the penny's on them. Before he rose completely again he said a silent prayer and made a cross over his chest._

_Then he walked to the door, unbolting it and then walking out of the building like nothing_ _had happened in the past 15 minutes._

"Well I guess we are no longer dealing with a mob hit man or men are we." Tara said looking at the body again. "This guy was a nobody, or at least he was no one off the mob, they chose other forms of accommodation."

"Is that all you know?" The captain said looking at her.

"For now, I mean I got dead mobsters and a dead lowlife, where the hell is the connection?" Tara asked frustrated.

"Don't ask me to do your job for you." Was his only short reply.

"Oh get off it! We got criminals dropping left right and center and you expect me to solve it in a day!" Tara yelled, she wanted to go o but then a though occurred to her. "They were criminals!"

"Excuse you?"

"That is the connection! They were criminals, that's the only connection between this guy and the others." Tara said a bit happier with herself now.

"That really doesn't solve anything, we kind off have enough criminals in this city you know." Her captain said sarcastically.

"I know, but if there is someone doing things like this then they must have some sort off record in the FBI database!" Tara said agitated.

"Fine then go after it and lets get this guy already, I have more important things to worry about." Her captain made a hand gesture which indicated she had to leave.

As Tara walked out back into the daylight she sighed, she knew this lead was going to pay off. Certain things were out off the usual and this was definitely one off them, now all she had to do was wait until something came rolling out off the computer.


End file.
